After 20 years, Live Music Now has brought music to some of the quietest corners of Wales. Matt Thomas meets the woman behind the scheme

Throwing open the world of music for all is a laudable aim but a pretty difficult thing to achieve.

That’s what makes the work of Live Music Now, and Welsh director Gillian Green, so exciting.

The scheme was founded by violinist Yehudi Menuhin in 1977 in order to bring the joy and inspiration of live music to those with limited access to conventional music-making, while at the same time helping to develop the careers of young talented musicians.

It boils down to taking young or up-and-coming musicians and placing them in environments like schools or retirement homes and letting them do their thing.

In 1990 the Welsh branch of the charity was established under the directorship of Green, then a harpist who had just returned to Wales having completed an arts management degree at City University in London.

Now, with more than 5,000 performances in community venues under its belt, LMN is preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary with a series of special concerts, starting tomorrow at Y Stiwt in Rhosllanerchrugog, Wrexham.

“It’s been an absolutely fantastic two decades,” says Cardiff-based Green.

“From that first year, it’s been gathering momentum and growing and I think it really reflects all that’s good and great about music in the country.

“When we started we just had (singers) Roger Lloyd-Evans and Arwel Treharne Morgan on our books but now we have hundreds.”

Among the appropriately named LMN alumni are the internationally renowned pianist Llyr Williams, who gave his debut solo recital at Carnegie Hall, New York in March 2009, Timothy Rhys Evans, baritone and conductor of choirs Only Men Aloud and Serendipity, Jeremy Huw Williams, a baritone specialising in contemporary music, Jeffrey Howard, pianist and vocal coach at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and baritone Paul Carey Jones of the Scottish National Opera.

“It’s a testament to the strength the musical contribution makes to the world,” says Green.

“We really do punch above our weight and always have done, I think.”

But while it’s great for the residents of care homes and schoolchildren to get the chance to see the rising stars of Welsh classical music, what do the performers themselves get out of it?

“Well, they get paid, for a start, and for a young musician that’s no small thing,” says Green.

“But it really does make them think differently about performance. Music can become a very private thing and this is about taking it out of the concert hall, out of the practice room and into the world.

“We ask each candidate who comes forward for the auditions to programme two concerts, one for children with mild learning difficulties and the other for a performance in a nursing home. It forces them to think about others when they’re thinking about music, not to simply give a virtuoso performance.”

As the head of auditions for the whole of the United Kingdom, Green sees a lot of hopefuls trying to make their way into the programme.

“It does take a particular sort of person, I think, to do this,” she says.

“But really, it’s a very important skill to learn, programming for different audiences. It’s important to mix up the well-known moments, what I call the lollipops, with the more challenging and interesting. After all, you couldn’t eat a whole meal of lollipops without getting sick.

“And it’s such an important experience, getting these artists out of their comfort zones and into a new area.”

It’s the reactions of audiences that matter the most to Green, however.

“Seeing the delight on children and people’s faces during a performance is inspiring and humbling. I remember a particular performance at a home in Porthmadog with (classical guitarist) Morgan Szymanski. The looks on their faces, the way the whole room was lifted as he played.

“That, for me, is what it’s all about. I always think of our motto which states that we’re here for the purpose of ‘Inspiring Musicians, Inspiring Communities’ and hopefully that’s what we’ve done here in Wales over the last 20 years and for many years to come.”

Tomorrow’s celebratory concert will be followed by events in the Ucheldre Centre, Holyhead on Saturday, October 2, St Mary’s Church Swansea on Tuesday, October 12 and the Riverfront Centre Newport on Friday, October 29.

The second series of concerts will take place in the first quarter of 2011 and venues will include The Coliseum, Aberdare, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Lyric Theatre Carmarthen and Galeri Caernarfon.

For more information and a performance shedule visit www.livemusicnow.org.uk

Music can be a very private thing and this is about taking it out of the concert hall, out of the practice room and into the world